Indie Games

Don’t adjust your dial-up modem! ToeJam and Earl are “Back in the Groove” in their newest title in almost 17 years. With plenty of funky music and smooth gameplay, the duo also comes with a limited Collector’s Edition thanks to the folks of Limited Run. Along with a physical copy of the game (PS4 or Switch) you also get:

There are up to 6 possible earthling pins with additional blind boxes sold separately.

And for $69.99 that is not a bad deal, considering the game will probably be $30 upon release. The pre-order goes live on Friday February 15, 2019, with Batch 1 @10am and Batch 2 @ 6pm EST. Considering the love and hype around the series, I have no doubt that this game will be a smash hit. But the orders will go quick, so be ready to boogie on over to the website when they go live! For more updates and info, check the Limited Run twitter and website. And congratulations Greg; here’s to you!!!

On this SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show podcast Barry is joined by Aki-At, developer of indie game Brock Crocodile, site contributor and one of the original three Swingin’ Report Show hosts, to interview Matt Phillips the creator of the Mega Drive/Genesis indie game Tanglewood. Matt’s past experience includes work at Traveller’s Tales, Crytek and Deep Silver Dambuster Studios. Learn how Tanglewood came about and how one goes about making a new game on 30 year old hardware.

It’s not every day that we get a brand new game coming out for the SEGA Mega Drive but Tanglewood by Big Evil Corporation is just that. Joining a very exclusive club of games released long after the console was discontinued, we got to try out and review this new release for the iconic 16 bit console. Staying true to the limitations of 90s game development and being built from the ground up, is Tanglewood a game worthy of reviving your Mega Drive for one more spin, or is it better left in the cupboard, read on to find out!

The classic 8-bit Commodore 64 Epyx game Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, which was later ported to several systems including the BBC Micro and Atari ST, is set to receive a SEGA Dreamcast port. The upcoming port is being handled by Retro Games Ltd, who have acquired the Epyx catalog, so it’s official!

Given the game has seen so many ports, you’re probably wondering which one the Dreamcast is getting. The answer is all of them, as you will be able to switch between the various versions with the press of a button. There will also be a new Dreamcast version with enhanced visuals. The game is also heading to the NES, Atari Jaguar and Genesis/Mega Drive.

Expect a physical Dreamcast release later this year, and in the meantime you can keep up on the project by following the Epyx Facebook page.

Nearly a year ago today, I shared a list of indie games coming to classic SEGA consoles in 2017. While I’m hard at work on a 2018 list, which includes some who didn’t make their 2017 deadline, I wanted to report on the Kickstarter campaign for the upcoming SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and Dreamcast game Xeno Crisis. Releasing in both physical and digital formats, the game is an arena shooter for up to two platers and takes inspiration from games like Smash TV, Contra, Mercs, Granada, Alien Syndrome, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Chaos Engine and Shock Troopers. Currently, the game is in the prototype stage and the plan is to release the game in October of 2018 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Mega Drive.

The campaign ends in 5 days, and currently they have $68,726 pledged of a $27,038 goal. You can learn more about the project here, and as always with a Kickstarter campaign, read everything carefully before making your mind up on backing or not.

The SEGAbits Swingin’ Report Show is back with returning guest Chris Tang! Chris is a game designer and gaming tournament champion, and was recently inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame. SEGA fans know Chris as the winner of SEGA’s Sonic & Knuckles Rock the Rock competition in 1994, and before that Chris was a finalist in 1990’s Nintendo World Championships. Since then, Chris has worked on games at Atari and Capcom, including Gauntlet IV, Primal Rage, Street Fighter III, Rival Schools and Power Stone. Chris is also the yearly announcer for the Tetris World Championships and originator of the BOOM! Tetris for Jeff meme.

Currently, Chris is hard at work on Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER (working title – subject to change), a new game inspired by classic SEGA titles like Space Harrier. The game combines the fast paced forward flying gameplay of Space Harrier with the RPG and combat elements of Phantasy Star while utilizing a unique arcade control structure that evokes Virtual On. The game is developed by HitSparks Games, and features the work of senior artist Kiyoshi Okuma, whose past work includes Gauntlet: Legends, World Series Baseball 2K2, The Sims 2 and Darkspore.

I sat down with Chris for an update on the development of Flight Armor Project: STRIKE HARBINGER, including the incredibly fun two player mode, and to discuss more of his past career, his work as an announcer for the Tetris World Championships and his recent induction into the International Video Game Hall of Fame.

On this episode of the SEGA News Bits we discuss the newly announced 2D brawler for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive titled Paprium. The game is being developed by Watermelon Games, who are best known for Pier Solar and pre-orders for Paprium are available now. The game is set to push the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive to its limit with large sprites, tons of enemies on screen and an 80 meg cart. Now that’s playing with power. Check out the episode to hear us discuss Paprium, its art style and discuss all the different versions available. Are you picking up Paprium? Which version are you getting? Let us know in the comments below.

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The Bomberman-inspired indie Dreamcast game Alice Dreams Tournament, successfully funded on Kickstarter in late 2015, inches closer to backer’s hands thanks to a recent project update. According to the team, they have received the games from the manufacturer. All versions are accounted for, except for the PAL collector’s edition which is lacking the front and back covers which are still in production. The team promises to keep backers informed as to when they are ready to ship.

Also announced, the team will be at Retro Game Play this Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th in Meaux, France. Backers were told that if they plan to be at the event or in the area they can pick up their game and get autographs. Copies of the game will be sold at the event itself.

Back in September of 2014SLaVE, a Dreamcast game by indie developer Isotope and GOAT Store Publishing, was announced. The game was to combine the game design sensibilities and aesthetics of 80s arcade shooters with old school first person shooters like Doom and Wolfenstein. At the time of the games announcement, it looked as though the release was just around the corner with Goat Store taking pre-orders for a Limited Edition and a Limited Limited Edition. Since then, however, little has been said about the game aside from a mention in April 2015 of a “final bug test” and the cover art reveal.

And then? Nothing, at least until this week when Isotope developer Coraline released the following statement.

Henshin Engine is a game based on a web comic that is set to release in early 2017 to PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16 and PC CD-Rom/Steam. The game features 2D action platforming and was programmed from the ground up for classic systems. With 6 days remaining in their Kickstarter campaign, Henshin Engine is $8,000 past their $16,400 goal, meaning they’ve started to chip away at their stretch goals. Of interest to SEGA fans is the promise of a Dreamcast post, set to release in late 2017, should the campaign pass $22,400. Given they are $2,000 past this goal, a Dreamcast version seems assured, though the developer has yet to release an update sharing this news.

On this episode of the Swingin’ Report Show podcast, Barry sits down with game designer and gaming tournament champion Chris Tang at the Galloping Ghost Arcade’s SEGA Week. SEGA fans may know Chris best as the winner of SEGA’s Sonic & Knuckles Rock the Rock competition in 1994, and before that Chris was a finalist in 1990’s Nintendo World Championships. Since then, Chris has worked on games at Atari and Capcom, including Gauntlet IV, Primal Rage, Street Fighter III, Rival Schools and Power Stone. Now, Chris is hard at work on a new game inspired by classic SEGA titles like Space Harrier and Phantasy Star. The game, titled Strike Harbinger, combines the fast paced forward flying gameplay of Space Harrier with the RPG and combat elements of Phantasy Star while utilizing a unique control structure that evokes Virtual On.

Strike Harbinger – developed by Chris’s company HitSparks Games – was revealed Saturday, April 30th at Galloping Ghost Arcade where I had the pleasure to meet Chris and the game’s Senior Artist Kiyoshi Okuma, whose past work includes Gauntlet: Legends, World Series Baseball 2K2, The Sims 2 and Darkspore. I also had the honor to be the first member of the public to play the game, and following that experience I chatted with Chris about his life as a tournament gamer, his career, and his plans for Strike Harbinger.

Want more information on Strike Harbinger? Stay tuned for an upcoming SEGA News Bits as well as a SEGA Week writeup!

We’re always ones for a good SEGA-inspired Kickstarter here at Bits, and it’s that time again; with Noctet Studio’s Slipstream being the latest object of our affections.

We’ve covered a few SEGA-themed racers such as Drift Stage and The90’s Arcade Racer in the past, but rest assured; Slipstream is aiming for something very different to those games. It’s more focused on being a pure driving game than just a racing game, a la OutRun. And it’s not just in gameplay either; Slipstream makes clever use of sprite-scaling to deliver an authentic look that’ll be plenty familiar to fans of the 80’s and 90’s heydays for SEGA driving titles such as Rad Mobile, and the aforementioned OutRun, all on a custom engine at a smooth 60fps. The influences even stretch beyond the racing classics of SEGA’s past; because we can’t not look at that Casino district and see Casino Night from Sonic the Hedgehog 2!

It’s not all that often we hear of new games for SEGA’s Master System. While 2015 appears to be the year of the Dreamcast, SEGA’s first Western console effort has received a new game available to play today entitled Moggy Master from homebrew development team The Mojon Twins. The game is a port of Moggy, a ZX Spectrum game from 2005 also by The Mojon Twins. In the game, players control Moggy, a little yellow guy, who is out to save his purple friends.

Its been a long time coming, but HUCAST Games’ latest release Ghost Blade is now available to purchase and play on your SEGA Dreamcast. Insert the obligatory “a Dreamcast game in 2015!?” here. Described as “an ace shoot ’em up for the Dreamcast with a focus on arcade action and an elaborate scoring system”, Ghost Blade promises three game modes with three player ships too choose from, five stages, a Caravan Mode, and support for the VGA Box, Arcade Stick, VMU and standard Dreamcast controller.